Silver and Gray, Foxes and Jays
by 1XxKiraXx1
Summary: Jay, a teenage girl who just moved to Japan, does not like troublesome things and tends to avoid them at all costs. Funny, considering that trouble always seems to follow due to her strong ESP abilities. However, preferring to play the act of normality, she ends up enrolling at Meiou High. To bad for her that due to a certain redhead, normal is still a long ways away. KURAMA X OC!
1. Chapter 1-A New Beginning

**Alrighty folks! Welcome to my new fanfic: Silver and Gray, Foxes and Jays! This is now officially the sixth fanfic in my Youkai Realm series! WOO-HOO! Haha, I've had this fic in my mind for a while now and finally decided to write it down for others to read. Hope it's enjoyed!**

**Pairing: Kurama/Yoko X OC  
Genre: Romance, Supernatural, Humor, Adventure  
Rating: T for some teenage language and perhaps a 'little' smexy stuff down the road.**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Yu Yu Hakusho, nor its characters, NOR its plot! I only own any part of the plot NOT a part of the anime and/or manga and my own OC character Gray-Jay Crees. This fanfic, however, is MINE and I'd like to keep it that way.**

**Hope you all enjoy the first chapter! :D**

* * *

**Chapter 1-A New Beginning**

**Gray-Jay's P.O.V.**  
"Jay, can you grab that last box for me?" my mother's voice called out from the living room of our brand new house, "It's about time we started unpacking."

My stormy blue green eyes flickered over to the door of my own new but empty bedroom in which I had been examining. Running slender fingers through my chest-length, layered, black hair, I let out a soft sigh before removing the appendage from my head and letting my long bangs fall back in place messily in front of my face. "Coming, Mom!" I hollered back, my voice holding a hint of boredom.

Whose idea was it to move to Japan again? Not that I particularly minded… It was just a lot of work to move, especially when moving with the fickle woman known as my mother. It could be quite the hassle.

"There you are, Jay." The dark-haired woman huffed softly as I entered the living room, "Set that box down over there in the corner. Actually wait…" she paused, "Maybe set it down over by the sofa so it's out of the way? Or even better yet-"

Never mind the 'could' be quite the hassle, it _was_ quite the hassle. "I'm putting it in the corner." I informed the woman in my same easy-going manner, with perhaps a tad of tiredness tinging my voice.

"Yes, but-"

"It's going… _in the corner_." I repeated, making it very clear that if my indecisive mother wished to change her mind again then she could move the stupid box herself.

A soft chuckle escaped my mother's lips, "Grumpy, not?"

I groaned, "Just tired. It's been a long day."

This time she outright laughed, "You're always tired!"

I shrugged indifferently, not bothering to deny it, for what she said was pretty much true. There really was nothing I liked more than a good nap; anywhere, anytime. To be frankly honest, I didn't like troublesome things. They were, well… troublesome. In all truth, I always took the route in the road that held the least bumps. Not that I was dumb! In fact, I was actually highly intelligent and had a curious way of thinking outside the box. I'd often heard many people say that I could accomplish anything or be anything I wanted if only I had the proper motivation. Which for me, was _extremely_ rare. However, it was also this peculiar way of thinking I possessed that actually made it much easier for me to find those simple and quietly uncomplicated paths of life.

When it came to school, I was pretty much the same. I could have easily graduated early by now at the age of sixteen if I'd wanted to. In other words, if I'd had the proper motivation to do. But in this case, I kind of liked to think of the tortoise and the hare; me of course being the tortoise who took it slow and steady instead of speeding on ahead only to lose out in the end.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

A full eight hours later, I stood, hands on hips as I examined the box cluttered room before me. After helping my mother unload some things, I had immediately tackled the remodeling of my own bedroom. I had at least managed to get all my bedding laid down, dressers set up, and clothes stuffed into them. Stretching with a yawn, I walked over to another nearby box and pulled out a long, wooden framed mirror; something that my fuss-bucket of an antique collecting aunt had given me one year for Christmas.

Hanging the antique item on the wall, I accidentally made the mistake of actually looking at my reflection. "Well, don't I look like the pristine package of crap?" I grumbled with little interest as I slightly glared at the me staring back in the mirror.

In all honestly, I looked like I was about to pass out from exhaustion. Not really a surprise, considering that my last couple days had been spent moving from the United States to Japan, traveling by plane, running around finalizing living arrangements, moving in, and unpacking; all on about a total of six hours of sleep, I might add. Every last ounce of my hundred and twenty slenderizing pounds felt like it'd been quadrupled in weight as I had the almost irresistible urge to slump down to the floor and deem it my bed for the night.

I was _sooo_ freaking tired!

"Jay!?" my mother's shout from downstairs managed to force my eyes back into an open state.

Blinking, so as to not fall asleep on my feet I replied, "Yeah?"

"Once you've got your room how you want it, why don't you turn in for the night?" she hollered back.

"Okay!" I answered her, stifling a yawn before turning back to look at the dozen boxes that still needed to be unpacked.

"…"

_"Screw it! My room is good enough for now!" _I decided solidly as I kicked a box off my bed before crawling exhaustedly underneath the inviting comforter that had been taunting me for the last three hours. A sigh of relief parted from my lips and I was about to finally close my eyes until I realized one very important thing.

The freaking light was still on!

"…"

_"DAMNIT!"_

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Jay!" a voice broke into my peaceful slumber, "Jay, wake up! You're going to be late on your first day of school!"

Slowly, a stormy blue green eye cracked itself open. "I'm gonna be late for wha-" I yawned lazily as I peered up out of my blankets at my mother standing in the door way.

"For school, that's what!" she snapped before walking over and ripping off my comforter, exposing me to the chilly morning air.

Closing my eyes briefly, I let out an exasperated groan, "I didn't even know I was already enrolled in one." I paused, "What school?"

"Meiou High School." The woman answered without missing a beat.

_PAUSE…_

"SAY WHAT!?" I yelped as I practically leapt out of bed. Having done some school hunting myself, I was fully aware that Meiou High was the most prestigious school in the city. Now, remember how I said that I tend to avoid troublesome things? Yeah, well, let's just say that prestigious and troublesome go side by side with one another.

"It's time you started using that head of yours more." My mom deadpanned in a further explanation, "Therefore, I decided to enroll you in a school that you had to use your head for." She sighed, "Honestly, Jay, you have the potential to be anything you want in life if you'd just put some effort into it."

"What do ya mean I don't put any effort into it?" I huffed, sitting back down on my bed, "Last time I checked, I'm a straight A plus student."

"Yes, but that was in an average public school, with average expectations." The dark-haired woman retorted, "If you'd actually put in an effort, you could have graduated by now."

Okaaaay… So, she had me there on that one.

"Now, put on your new school uniform and make yourself presentable." Mom huffed again before giving me a box, "I'll go downstairs and whip you up some breakfast and a lunch."

…

After the woman had departed from my midst, I finally decided that it'd be even more troublesome to fight against it then to just go along and say to hell with it. Or, at I thought I'd come to that decision until I saw the uniform I had to wear.

Seriously, the color made me think that a horde of sea clams had thrown up on the thing.

Briefly, I wondered how many times I had sighed already this morning. "Guess it can't be helped." I at last concluded as I slipped into clam puke colored monstrosity. Back in the United States, I'd definitely seen worse.

_"Heh!"_ Comforting thought of the day…

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

_"So, this is Meiou High, huh?" _I thought absentmindedly as I gazed up at the school building, _"Guess it doesn't look too bad." _Yawning, I continued to look around, _"That door there is probably the office."_

Shrugging, I decided that I might as well go and see.

Fortune seemed to be with me as my intuition was right on the dot. Stepping inside, a Japanese woman looking to be in her mid-fifties looked up at me with mild surprise.

"Can I help you with something, young lady?" she inquired with a motherly tone.

"Yeah." I supplied, sauntering over to the desk, "I'm the new transfer student, Gray-Jay Crees."

"Ah, yes, of course!" the middle aged woman bubbled excitedly, before reaching out to shake my hand, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Hesitating ever so slightly, I reluctantly made physical contact with the woman. Instantly, her name flashed across my mind.

_Chizaru Amane_

Suppressing yet another sigh, I removed my hand from hers before any more personal information could flash across my mind. Yeah, it was a little ability I had. I could tell what a person's name was just by touching them. Sometimes other information would come to me as well, but it was rare, and I tried to avoid it. Another little twist to my normal life was that I had the ability to sense the emotions of people around me. The stronger the feeling was, the easier it was for me to pick it up. I also had always been quite in tuned to the supernatural, having actually been the only one able to see a ghost that had lived in my mom and I's previous home.

I think all this weird shit was called something like ESP or what not.

"Maihara-sensei," the middle age woman snapped me out of my thoughts as she addressed a younger woman who was getting some coffee in the office corner, "this here is your new student, Miss Crees."

The coffee woman with ironically coffee colored hair turned around to give me a curious look before smiling sweetly. "It's nice to meet you, Miss Crees. You have perfect timing." She continued in a gentle voice, "I was just about to head to my classroom and as it so happens, you have homeroom with me. Therefore, I'll be able to make sure you don't get lost along the way."

"Oh, thank you." I replied as I followed her out, _"Well, here goes nothing."_

As we apparently got closer and closer to the homeroom, an odd feeling slowly began to seep into my senses. It was strange, kind of like the feeling I got when a ghost was around, but slightly different and fainter.

"Here we are." Maihara-sensei stated, stopping in front of a door, "Please wait here, Miss Crees, until I call you in."

"Sure." I shrugged with a small smile, watching as she disappeared into the classroom. There was no doubt in my mind, the odd feeling I was getting was definitely coming from in there.

"-our new transfer student from the United States. Please come in now, Miss Crees."

Blinking out of my stupor, I vaguely heard what the teacher said as I entered the room. Multiple pairs of eyes were trained on me as I walked over to stand by the desk. Some held minimum interest, while others held high curiosity. However, one of these pairs of extremely curious orbs caught my interest immediately. They were a stunning emerald green belonging to a young man with long, feathery looking red hair and slightly feminine features. It only took me but a moment to realize that the odd feeling I'd been getting was coming straight from him.

"Would you care to introduce yourself?" Maihara-sensei inquired as she turned her attention to me.

Nodding, I turned slightly and gave a more or less indifferent look to the class. "Nice to meet ya'all." I greeted in a friendly manner, "I'm Gray-Jay Crees, but Jay is fine since that's what everyone calls me."

Different murmurs ran through the classroom as I made my introduction. Once finished the homeroom teacher once again addressed me, "Thank you, Miss Crees. Now, why don't you go take a seat?" She continued, pointing to an empty desk directly beside the still curiously observant red-head I mentioned before, "Mr. Minamino, I'm sure will be happy to answer any questions you might have during the new start of your attendance here."

"But of course. I'd be more than happy to." The young man smiled warmly at me.

But still…

That smile did nothing to dissipate the strange aura that clouded around the young man. But perhaps I was just being paranoid.

…

Well, that wasn't like me at all. Shuffling over, I returned the boy's smile with a small smile of my own. Yeah, being paranoid was way too troublesome. As long as the innocent looking redhead didn't do me any harm, I really couldn't care less who or what he was and I was more than willing to be friends.

"I'm Shuichi Minamino." He informed me in a gentle voice, extending his hand in a friendly manner as I took a seat.

Once again, I hesitated ever so briefly before taking the hand offered to me in friendship. Then again, the guy had already told me his name, so it wouldn't really matter as long as nothing else filtered into my mind. I prayed it wouldn't.

"Jay." I replied with a small grin, taking his hand in a handshake. I blinked once, then twice as an unfamiliar name flashed across my mind, doing a fairly decent job of surprising the shit out of me.

_Yoko Kurama_

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**Well, what did you guys/girls all think of the first chapter? Seriously, I am BEGGING you to please, PLEASE review! To be honest, it's the first chapter reviews that mean the most to me since it tells me how good my intro was. No flaming, but constructive criticism, suggestions, and questions are ALWAYS welcome! I'm waiting with baited breath to see how I fared. Oh and pretty please follow and favorite! See you all in the next chapter!**

**OTHER STORIES OF MINE!  
Windswept Fire - Inuyasha - Sesshomaru X OC  
Symbol of the Dog - Inuyasha - Sesshomaru X Youkai OC  
A Daiyoukai's Dance - Inuyasha - Sesshomaru X Kagome - ONESHOT  
Ouran Host Club Kitsune - Ouran High School Host Club - Youkai OC X Haruhi  
Youkai or a Fairy - Hakushaku to Yousei - Youkai OC X Lydia  
Welcome to Pandora Academy - Pandora Hearts - Jack Bezarius X OC  
Byakuya's Story: Tales of the Past - Bleach - Young Byakuya X OC - DRABBLES  
Ice Cream for Two Please - Fairy Tail - Gray X Lucy - ONESHOT**

**Rock Out!  
Kira**


	2. Chapter 2-Curiousity

**I'm baaaack! *grins* YAY! I got four, FOUR reviews on my first chapter! *squeals with delight* Well, then, here's some cake for my said AWESOME four first reviewers: verry-chan, Xerxes'Girl, S, and Black Dragon Valkyrie! I LOVE YOU ALL SOOO MUCH! Also, a HUGE thank you to all the people who have favorited and/or followed this story! Hope everyone enjoys chapter 2!**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Yu Yu Hakusho, nor its characters, NOR its plot! I only own any part of the plot NOT a part of the anime and/or manga and my own OC character Gray-Jay Crees. This fanfic, however, is MINE and I'd like to keep it that way.**

* * *

**Chapter 2-Curiousity**

**Kurama's P.O.V.  
**I smiled warmly at the new girl as she walked over and sat down next to me. To be frankly honest, I was rather curious about her. Not simply because of the fact she was a new student, but because I could sense something… different about her, separating her from other humans, and yet I couldn't quite place what it was.

"I'm Shuichi Minamino." I introduced myself warmly, extending a friendly hand in greeting. Ever so briefly, I noticed with curiosity that she hesitated before taking my hand. Perhaps she was just shy? I'd noticed that most girls were when around me.

But that did not seem to be the case as, seeming to reach a sort of conclusion, a small grin broke over her features. "Jay." She said simply before grasping my own larger hand in hers.

…

She blinked, then blinked again, and I found myself becoming slightly worried as her eyes showed an expression of surprise. "Miss Jay, is something wrong?" I inquired softly, immediately snapping her out of her sudden stupor.

"Oh, sorry!" she quickly apologized, instantly releasing my hand, "It's nothing. Nice to meet you, Shuichi." The stormy-eyed girl paused before adding with a soft sigh, "And please, drop the miss. Formalities are way too troublesome for my taste."

"Very well, Jay." I responded in a smooth tone, watching as the surprise in her eyes vanished just as quickly as it had appeared. However, it wasn't just that that intrigued me, but her eyes…

Despite her friendly expression, her eyes were completely unreadable.

My own green eyes blinked in slight astonishment, as for the first time, I was faced with a human whose face I could not read. Her eyes were incredible deep, I realized, as if they were waves of a stormy ocean attempting to swallow you up in their gaze. I also noticed that the irises were surrounded by a thin line of gold.

"Finished with your examination?" Miss Jay inquired, snapping me out of my thoughts as she raised a delicate eyebrow at my person.

"You're eye color is quite unique." I stated, lacing my voice with a hint of curiosity in hopes she might catch on to the hidden question.

Apparently she did as she shrugged with an indifferent reply, "Yeah, I get that a lot."

Alright, so maybe she _didn't_ catch the hidden question, _or_ she was just being evasive.

But due to her slightly, _slightly_ uncomfortable scent when mentioning the subject, I suspected the latter. However, with my instinctively inquisitive nature urging me on, I found myself preparing to delve deeper into the subject.

Unfortunately, it seemed Maihara-sensei had other plans as she called class to order, successfully preventing me from pressing the subject. Sighing mentally, I let the matter drop.

At least until lunch.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Hey, Shuichi." A pair of girls, whose names I couldn't currently remember, approached me with their lunches in hand, "Want to have lunch with us."

"Terribly sorry." I said with an apologetic look, "But I've already decided to have lunch with someone else. Would either of you ladies happen to know where Miss Gray-Jay Crees is?"

"Oh, you mean the new transfer student?" one of them instantly perked up.

"That's right." I replied.

"Sorry, but I wouldn't know." She apologized, "I had my last class with her, but she vanished as soon as it was over. Again, sorry Shuichi."

"No, that's quite alright." I quickly assured the girl as I stood up, "I'm sure I can find her."

"Yeah, well, good luck with that." The other girl laughed softly before she and her friend departed.

Sighing softly, I let my senses roam about in an effort of discovering the black-haired girl's location. It wasn't too hard, my keen sense of smell quickly being able to pick her scent up among the rest.

_"Seems she is on the roof." _I realized, not exactly what I expected, but oh well. If she was on the roof, then it seems that the roof would be where I'd be eating lunch today.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Up here taking a nap are we?" I asked the girl currently sprawled out on her back, hands resting behind her head like a lazy cat in the sun. A bit of amusement tinted my voice as an image of Yusuke flashed through my mind.

A stormy blue green eye cracked open to give me unconcerned look. "Yup." She stated before sporting a small grin, "Wanna join me?"

"I'm afraid I came up here to eat not to sleep." I informed the young female with a soft chuckle before sitting down next to her.

"Meh. Your loss." Miss Jay shrugged, once again closing her eyes.

Looking over on her other side, I spotted the lunch box that still remained unopened sitting in the sun. "As for eating lunch," I inquired curiously, "Shouldn't you be doing the same?"

"Hmm… Probably." She replied indifferently, causing a touch of exasperation to well up with in me. I couldn't help but wonder if the girl was ignorant of the fact or deliberately gave such vague answers to all the questions she was asked.

As if catching on to my slight irritation, she once again cracked an eye open and grinned, "What's it to you?"

"Nothing in particular." I stated with her own air of vague indifference, for two could play at this game.

Giving me a slightly curious look, the stormy-eyed girl raised a delicate eyebrow, "Then why are you up here? Wouldn't you usually be eating in the classroom or the cafeteria?"

"Perhaps." I stated evasively with a small but amused smile, my eyes holding a slight twinkle of mischief.

I couldn't sworn I spotted a small tick mark try and make itself known on her forehead. "Suit yourself." She grumbled, clearly deciding that pressing any farther would be troublesome. Therefore, she let the matter drop.

Realizing that she wasn't going to inquire any farther, I decided to elaborate, if only a little bit, "I actually came up here to talk to you."

This statement lead to both eyes opening and pinning me with an openly surprised look.

I myself raised a delicate eyebrow, "Is that so strange."

"Well, I guess not." Jay spoke quietly, pinning her gaze on the sky above, "It's just the first time anyone's ever gone out of their way to talk to me. That's all." Not seeming to notice the surprise etched in my features she continued, "How'd you know I was up here anyways?"

"A girl from your last class said she saw you head up here." I said, quickly concealing my previous surprise as I let the lie roll smoothly off my tongue.

…

I couldn't help but freeze as her eyes pulled away from the sky to meet mine. Again, the feeling of drowning in their depths was almost consuming. But just as quickly as she pinned me with that soul searching gaze, her eyes flickered back to that unreadable expression as her gaze returned to the sky.

"I see."

* * *

**Gray-Jay's P.O.V.  
**"I see." I stated effortlessly as I momentarily let my gaze return to the sunny blue skies above, before re-closing my tired eyes.

However, the fact of the matter was, I _didn't_ see! For I had known it the moment he informed me of how he'd discovered my whereabouts. With my ability to sense others emotions, it'd been simple.

I knew he had been lying to me.

Now, why had he lied to me? I have no idea. But to be strictly honest, I didn't really care. I didn't know why he went through the trouble of coming up with a lie, or what he was hiding with it, and I didn't plan to go _through_ the trouble of finding out. Besides, I currently felt too relaxed out here bathing in the sun to really give a rat's ass. In fact, with how content I was feeling at the moment, I doubt if I could get myself to give a rat's ass about anything.

"Miss Jay?"

Okay, except for that miss thing. That's gotta go.

"Miss Jay?" Shuichi repeated, seeing as he'd failed to get a response on the first try, "Are you-"

"Drop the miss, Shuichi." I ordered with a soft grumble, not bothering to open my eyes as I spoke.

_PAUSE…_

"Jay?" the redhead's voice inquired, this time dropping the annoying formality.

"Hm?" I mumbled in reply, literally on the verge of sleep. Man, the sun was _sooo_ warm! I could stay like this forever!

"Like I said before, you have very unique eyes." He stated.

"…"

"Miss Jay?"

"I thought I said the drop the miss thing." I growled, slightly irritated and feeling a bit uncomfortable with the topic, "And I also remember saying that I get that a lot."

"In all my life, I've never seen anything like them before." The emerald-eyed boy continued, ignoring the fact that I clearly didn't want to talk about it.

"Yeah." I replied flatly, "Not surprising. You haven't really lived all that long either." Geez, why the hell was he being so persistent!?

I heard a _thoroughly_ amused chuckle, "If only you knew."

Cracking an eye open I sent him a slight glare. "What the hell's that supposed to mean?" I challenged.

Shuichi smiled sweetly at me, "Oh, nothing."

_"Another lie." _I mentally noted. Though, considering he was lying about his name as well, the fact no longer surprised me. What, was the little twat like a special agent or something!? Wouldn't surprise me considering all the info digging he was doing. Sheesh!

_SILENCE…_

I could easily feel the redhead's gaze seeping into my skin.

"Jay-" he began again.

"I inherited them from my father. He was a psychic researcher, and he passed away three years ago. End of story." I stated emotionlessly, not bothering to open my eyes, knowing that the only thing I'd find was pity.

However, instead of immediate pity, the heavy feeling of guilt following my statement was so thick I could almost taste it.

Damnit! Now, I felt like the bad guy!

"I'm sorr-"

"Don't say it." I said flatly, finally forcing myself into a sitting position and stretching my limps.

Not surprisingly, the emotion following that statement was confusion.

Turning I flashed the guilty looking redhead a grin. "Don't apologize." The grin grew wider, my eyes holding a teasing flicker within them, "Apologies are troublesome."

* * *

**Kurama's P.O.V.  
**I could feel the guilt build up inside of me as Miss Jay emotionlessly informed me of her father's passing. Her expression was completely blank and still, so as to not give away whatever she might be feeling at the moment. Absentmindedly, I noted that she was very good at hiding her emotions. However, the scent of sorrow invading my nose said far more than any physical expression could. "I'm sorr-" I began but was quickly cut off.

"Don't say it." She said flatly as she sat up and stretched her arms.

I couldn't but help give her a thoroughly confused look. She didn't seem angry, and yet why wouldn't she at least let me apologize for being so intrusive on her personal matters!?

My surprise was quick to turn to utter astonishment as the black-haired girl turned and flashed me a grin, "Don't apologize." I was fairly sure she had turned to teasing me, "Apologies are troublesome."

_"Apologies were…" _A smile formed on my face as the guilt slowly lifted off my shoulders. "All right then," I continued to smile, "No apologies."

"Good!" she yawned before glancing down at the lunch box beside her, "I suppose I should probably eat that."

I chuckled softly at her reluctance to abandon her nap, "Yes, you probably should."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

As I headed home that day after school, I couldn't help but feel that my days to come as living the life of an ordinary human would become far more interesting with such a unique school mate. Apparently, I still had a small smile fixed on my face when I walked in the house as my human mother quickly noticed it.

"Welcome home, Shuichi." She greeted me in a gentle manner as I stepped into the kitchen, "It seems like you had a nice day today."

I blinked briefly in slight surprise, realizing for the first time that I'd been smiling the entire way home and still was, for that matter. "It was certainly interesting, Mother." I replied, giving the woman a warm look, "We had a new transfer student."

"I suppose that would be interesting." The gentle woman turned so as to look at me, "You'll have to tell me about it over dinner. Oh!" she paused, "And on the topic of dinner, we're going to be having some guests over."

Curiosity showed in my expression as I posed my inquiry, "Guests, Mother?"

"That's right." My mother laughed softly as she seemed to take a brief trip down memory lane, "An old friend I went to college with just moved back here from the States, and since she just arrived, I thought it'd be nice to have her and her daughter over for dinner tonight."

I smiled softly at the excited woman, "Yes, that would be nice."

* * *

**Gray-Jay's P.O.V.  
**"Dinner at an old college friends?" I raised a delicate eyebrow at my mother as I lay more or less face-planted into my pillows.

"That's right!" my mom chattered happily, "Shiori and I go way back! It's been a long time since I've seen her, and since we just moved in, the dear was thoughtful enough to invite us over for dinner."

"Greaaat." I mumbled sleepily back into my pillow, "Have fun."

"You're coming too, Jay." The dark-haired woman snapped, hands on hips as she gave me a look that clearly said that the matter was not up for discussion.

Not to say that I still didn't try.

Groaning I dragged my gaze back up out of my pillow to meet hers, "Do I have to?"

A thoroughly persistent glare was all I got in response.

"Why!?" I moaned, hoping desperately to change her mind.

The glare remained.

"Gah! Fine!" I finally huffed as I dragged myself off my bed.

"Good. Now, go take a shower and make sure to look at least halfway decent before we leave." The tyrannical being grumped before leaving me alone in my room.

…

Damnit! And I was hoping to catch a few Z's too! Actually, come to think of it, I was pretty sure I had homework to do.

Not to mention it was due tomorrow.

"…"

_"Meh! Oh, well." _I shrugged it off, deciding not to worry about it. However, as soon as I forced the thought from my mind, another troublesome thought filtered its way in.

A thought that was accompanied by red hair and bright grin eyes.

A thought that went by the name of Shuichi Minamino.

_Yoko Kurama_

The name flashed through my mind yet again. For the love of everything good in this word, I hated troublesome things! And this certain little bump in the road currently took the cake.

First, was his aura. It was human, and yet, not human. But not a ghost's either.

And second, he was using a false name.

WHY!?

_"Shut up, brain, SHUT-UP!" _I mentally screamed as I whacked my head on the side of the wall. That's right, I absolutely would NOT think about it anymore. I did NOT care! Damn it all, I hated curiosity, one of my greatest flaws to letting myself live an easygoing and trouble free life. For, I got the feeling that if I ended up knowing, things would become an even bigger pain in the ass then they already were.

Dinner.

_"That's right." _I told myself as I headed to the shower. We were going to dinner. I needed to get ready, and hopefully I'd be able to spend my evening in quiet peace with my mother's friend.

For the love of the Kami's I could only hope!

* * *

**Weeell? What do ya think? I'm seriously BEGGING you on my hands and knees to review! Everyone did positively GREAT on the first chapter! The more reviews I get, the more inspired I am, and the FASTER I'll update! So, PLEAAASE REEEVIEEEW! XD I have about half of chapter three done and chapter four completed. Oh yeah, and please follow and favorite this story as well. Tataa for now and see ya'all in the next chapter!**

**Rock Out!  
Kira**


	3. Chapter 3-Friends and Complications

**Sound the horns, people! I'm back with another awesome chapter! Wow! I'm really glad to see you guys/girl are enjoying this! *squeals happily* And on top of that, I got another seven (eight if you include the newbie on chapter one) reviews! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! Alright then, a slice of cake to my seven AWESOME and most recent reviewers: Lotisha, AnimeGmr101, Xerxes'Girl, verry-chan, anon, Within The Lines, and DarkenedRoseDust! I love you all SOOO much! Also, a HUGE thank you to all the people who have favorited and/or followed this story! Hope everyone enjoys chapter 3!**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Yu Yu Hakusho, nor its characters, NOR its plot! I only own my OC character Gray-Jay Crees, any other OCs I create along the way, and any part of the plot NOT a part of the anime and/or manga. This fanfic, however, is MINE and I'd like to keep it that way.**

* * *

**Chapter 3-Friends and Complications**

**Gray-Jay's P.O.V.  
**Remember how I said I'd hoped to spend my evening in peace?

Yeah, well, apparently the universe hated me right now as I found myself staring into the very green eyes of the person who I had been trying to rid from my thoughts for the last two hours.

DAAAAMNIT!

"Oh, you must be Shiori's son, Shuichi." My mother greeted the redhead who had met us at the door, "I'm Kayla and this is my daughter, Jay."

I suppose the only comfort was that Shuichi looked to be about just as surprised as I was. "Ah, yes, Miss Jay and I have already met." He smiled warmly, managing to do a successful job of masking his astonishment.

A glare was sent his way as he once again failed to drop the effing miss attached to my name.

"Oh?" it was now my mom's turn to look surprised, "You two have already met? How?"

"We have homeroom together." I sighed, letting the surprise dissipate from my eyes as I continued to mentally curse the universe and every God whose name I could come up with at the moment.

"Ah, I see." The woman standing beside me smiled, "It's nice to see that Jay's made such a polite friend on her first day."

_"Friend?" _I blinked in slight realization.

"As am I." Shuichi replied with a smile, "Go ahead and come in. My mother is still in the kitchen."

Wait… Did he just agree with her?

"Why thank you, Shuichi." Mom laughed gently as she stepped inside, "Come on, Jay."

_"Heh! Not that I mind." _I smiled a bit as I followed her inside, _"A new friend is always nice to have, even if he is a troublesome little bugger."_

* * *

**Kurama's P.O.V.  
**I watched in silent amusement as Miss Kayla made a direct b-line for the kitchen. Only moments later, I heard my mother gasp in surprise, a series of bubbly laughs following as the two women immediately engaged in conversation.

"Well, that was quick." The black-haired girl in front of me deadpanned as she shut the door behind her.

Dressed in a pair of short, cut-off jeans, a black tank top, and old blue hoodie, her semi-long hair pulled up in a high, messy ponytail, Miss Jay painted a very interesting image for herself. Like this she seemed… even more relaxed and laid back then usual. It was obvious that she held a very minimum care for her appearance. Unlike most human girls her age that I'd met, she didn't even wear makeup.

"Indeed it was." I chuckled softly in reply before giving her a warm smile, "Although, if I may be honest, you're truly the last person I expected to have over for dinner tonight."

"Heh! Yeah, well, that makes two of us, pal." Miss Jay grinned in reply, hanging her navy blue hoodie on the coat rack.

_"Pal?" _I couldn't help but smirk at the very Yusuke-like term in which she'd refereed to me with. It was hard for me not to already notice how much the two had in common. Absentmindedly, I wondered how the boy was doing after participating in the Dark Tournament and such.

"Ah, and this lovely dear must be your daughter." My mother's cooing voice snapped me out of my thoughts as she appeared from the kitchen with Miss Kayla and approached the stormy-eyed girl by my side, "I'm Mrs. Minamino."

"Jay." My classmate said simply as she hesitantly shook hands. With slight surprise, I wondered why she always seemed so hesitant to make physical contact with someone.

"Kayla told me that you and Shuichi have homeroom together." The motherly woman continued, "I'm guessing you're the new transfer student he mentioned to me earlier."

"That's right, Mother." I agreed with the woman, taking slight amusement as Miss Jay shot me a rather curious look, my guess wondering just what else I'd mentioned about her.

"Well, now that we're all introduced," Miss Kayla cut in before turning to her daughter, "Jay?"

"Hm? What?" she answered uninterestedly.

"Shiori here forgot a few ingredients for tonight's dinner." The dark-haired woman continued, handing Miss Jay a short list, "Would you be a dear and go get them really quick. Just go to that convenience store we passed a couple blocks away."

"What a drag." The stormy-eyed girl groaned softly, but still took the list she was offered as she headed for the door, "Be back in a jiffy."

"Wait a moment, Miss Jay." I spoke up, earning a swift glare as I suddenly realized that she was intending to go alone, "I'll come along as well. It's hardly safe for a girl to go walking around alone at night."

"You certainly make a strong point, Shuichi." My mother praised with a thoughtful look, "It'll also give you two a chance to get to know each other better. Good idea."

"Meh. Suit yourself." Miss Jay shrugged, not seeming to care one way or the other, "Let's go."

I smiled softly as I walked forward and opened the door, sending her a slightly amused look, "Ladies first."

* * *

**Gray-Jay's P.O.V.  
**_"Smartass!" _I mentally grumbled as I walked through the door, Shuichi following along right behind me.

Though, even if he was a smartass, I suppose it was rather… what's the word… chivalrous? Yeah, I suppose it was rather chivalrous of him to tag along as my escort, even if it was a little insulting. I mean, I didn't spend eleven years training in a martial arts dojo for nothing, but he didn't know that. Actually, to be honest, I only did it because my mother was overbearing, overprotective, and demanded that I learn self-defense at a young age. Not that I had ever really needed to use it. Talking my way out of situations, when there actually was one, was more my style. It was way less troublesome and used up a hell of a lot less energy.

In other words, I was usually just too damn lazy to fight.

It was a pain.

…

Literally and figuratively.

…

You get the point.

Okay, back to the problem at hand; being said smartass currently walking beside me. Now, let's look at the facts. I knew for a _fact_ that his real name was Yoko Kurama. However, his mother of all people had still called him Shuichi. On top of that, I could sense no lie in her emotions when she called him as such. Meaning, that she apparently didn't have knowledge of his true name. Though, I suppose he could be adopted?

…

Shit! That just made things even more complicated to figure out.

Wait a moment! Why the hell am I even thinking about this bullshit again!? Seriously, since when did I actually start caring about this kind of stuff? What went on in another person's life was none of my business. Nosing about would only prove to be troublesome.

Yeah… my brain just needed to shut-up.

Come to think of it though… Was Shuichi really just another person? He had admitted to me being his friend, after all. It was a rare thing in my life. But the question was, was that true?

"Hey, Shuichi?" I suddenly addressed the redhead, breaking the silence between us, "Did you really mean what you said, about us being friends and all?"

The young man gave me a slightly taken-aback look. "Hmm… Perhaps acquaintance would be more appropriate, considering we just met this afternoon." He paused thoughtfully, "But I get the feeling that you probably wouldn't just go out and tell an acquaintance what you told me on roof today. Did I assume incorrectly?"

Woah! Good point… I didn't even think of that! Then again, why _did_ I mention the passing of my father to the persistent boy? Meh. It's probably because Shuichi was just that… persistent. Chances are he would've just kept inquiring if I hadn't given him an answer.

"Not at all." I assured him with a smile, an odd feeling beginning to warm my body, "The thought of us being friends… I rather like that."

Shuichi gave me a curious look, "You say that as if you don't have many."

"I don't." I stated bluntly. People had always seemed to be able to tell I was a bit, well… strange, due to my ESP abilities. Most tended to avoid me, and I them so that my little secret didn't end up being spilled. But like hell if I was just gonna come out and tell Shuichi that.

Seemingly focusing on what was wise, the red-haired youth didn't press the matter. He probably figured it was a sensitive subject, though in reality, it really wasn't. I'd never particularly minded not having many friends. There was one, I admit, who had always been my best friend ever since I was only five years old.

As my father always used to tell me, _'It's better to have quality over quantity.'_

And for me, that included the aspect of friends too.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Ah, thank you, you two." My mother smiled warmly at Shuichi and I as she took the few groceries that we'd brought back, "Now, Shiori and I are going to finish up here. So, why don't the two of you go play some cards or something in the living room?"

I was just about to object, and inform the irritating woman that she was treating us like toddlers when I realized that she'd said _cards_.

HELL YEAH! Shuichi wouldn't know what hit him!

"I wouldn't be against something of the sort." Shuichi stated before turning to me, "Is that alright with you, Miss Jay?"

"First of all, like I keep telling you, it's just Jay. But sure, I'd be totally up for some cards." I grinned.

I got the feeling that my evil intentions were given away as Shuichi got a wary look in his eye at my positive and unusually enthusiastic response.

"Gray-Jay Crees." My mother's dangerous tone stopped me dead in my tracks as the redhead and I headed towards the living room.

"Yeah?" I blinked back at her innocently.

Walking over, the suddenly demonic looking woman stopped only when she had her face in mine. "No poker." She stated coldly.

Argh, damnit! She caught me!

Shuichi gave my mom a confused look, "Miss Jay is not allowed to play poker?"

GAH! Would he cut that out!? Seriously, I was beginning to wonder if he addressed me by the miss just to annoy me!

"Not anymore she's not." Mom glowered over me, "You see, besides being a Psychic researcher, my late husband was quite the poker player." Her glare sharpened, "However, if it seemed like a losing game, he would resort to strategy two."

"Strategy two?" the redhead inquired curiously.

"Cheating." My mother growled, crossing her arms over her chest, "And, unfortunately, he passed on those skills to his daughter. She may not look the kind, but Jay's one of the best card sharks out there. She's even managed to screw over professional players!"

I gave a lopsided grin, "I'm flattered."

"It wasn't a compliment!" the dark-haired woman snapped.

Shuichi, himself gave me an amused look before turning back to my mother. "I'll keep your warning in mind, Miss Kayla." The green eyed youth smirked slightly as he gave me a sideward glance, "But I believe I'd like to try my luck."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

_'Try my luck.' _He says. What a bunch of bull!

Shuichi was a poker master!

Hell! He was even as good as me!

And when I say as good as me, I mean he was just as good at _cheating_ as I was! Heh! It was certainly a very interesting poker game we were having, to say the least. Both players were master card sharks, after all. In the end, it just came down to who could out-cheat the other person.

"Four of a kind, all aces." I smirked as I laid my hand on the table.

However, my confidence didn't last long as my smirk was promptly returned. "Straight flush, jack high." Shuichi stated smugly as he laid down his cards.

"Damnit!" I roared as I slammed my head on the table, pausing before peering up to give him a look, "Seriously, man, you're really good at this."

"Likewise." The redhead replied, putting a mark on our scoreboard which was currently twelve to ten, "You, yourself are a very difficult if not impossible opponent to read."

I raised a curious eyebrow at the youth, feeling like there was more depth to his statement then what met the immediate eye.

"Dinner, you two!" Mrs. Minamino's call put a halt to our poker game.

_"Meh!" _I closed my eyes briefly, shrugging off the prickly feeling, _"Whatever."_

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Thank you so much for having us over, Shiori!" my mother gushed as she enveloped the other woman in a hug.

Standing alongside of her just outside the door, I shot Shuichi a grin, "Good game."

"That it was." The green-eyed young man replied, a small smirk forming on his face, "I suppose I'll see you tomorrow, Miss Jay."

"Ugh… How many times have I told you!? It's just… you know what? Never mind. I don't care anymore. Now, you're just doing it to annoy me anyways." I huffed softly, shoving my hands into my pockets, "But yeah, see ya tomorrow, Shuichi."

"Alright, then, let's go!" Mom said cheerfully, waving to her college friend as we rounded the yard hedges and made our way back to our car.

"Well, wasn't that fun?" the dark-haired woman sighed happily as we approached the old pickup truck, "You and Shuichi seemed to get along really well."

"Yeah, we did." I answered her, somewhat lost in thought thinking about how surprisingly well the evening had gone.

I was just about to get in the car, when suddenly a strange feeling assaulted my senses. It was like the feeling I got when around Shuichi, and yet… once again, it was a bit different.

"Jay?" my mother called from the driver's seat.

"Uh, one sec, Mom." I wracked my brain for a lie, "I-I forgot something in the house. Be right back!" And with that said, I dashed back around the hedges into the Minamino's yard.

Wait just a damn moment!

…

What happened to avoiding troublesome things!?

I paused for several seconds as I debated over whether or not I should let my curiosity get the better of me. However, in the end, curiosity pushed back the lazy like reluctance as I stealthily made my way away the corner of the house, following my senses.

Let's just say that after carefully peeking around the corner, the sight I expected to see was NOT the sight I got.

There, standing on his balcony, was Shuichi talking to a girl with BLUE hair, purple eyes, and FLOATING on an effing OAR!

What the HELL!?

"Kurama, you're saying you haven't located any of the stolen spirit world artifacts?" the blue-haired girl asked, disappointment obvious in her voice.

Hold on a sec…

_Yoko Kurama_

That chick just called him Kurama! Now, thoroughly interested, I focused everything on the conversation being held just a little ways from my hiding place.

"No, Botan, I'm afraid I haven't." the redhead replied apologetically.

"Oh, dear. Lord Coenma is not going to be pleased." The floating girl, Botan I presumed, fretted, "You sure you haven't located any? I mean, you are a demon, after all! Can't you just… Oh, I don't know, sniff them out or something!?"

Bloody hell, did she just call Shuichi, er… Kurama a demon!?

"I'm afraid not." The, supposed, demon chuckled in soft amusement, "Though I might be able to-"

That was all I heard as I ninja'd my way back around the house and returned to the car. I positively did NOT wanna hear anymore.

**(A/N: If you're wondering why Kurama didn't sense her, it has to do with her ESP abilities naturally hiding her presence when being used.)**

Damnit! I knew I should've just let well enough alone! Not to mention I was even MORE confused and curious then I was to start out with! GAH! Talk about complicating the HELL out of life!

And the worst part was, I got the inkling that this was only the beginning.

SHIT! SHIT! SHIT! SHIT!

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**Weeell? What do you all think!? Did you catch the brief Shikamaru line? Hehe... Anyways, please, PLEASE review! You guys/girls have been doing an AWESOME job so far! Seriously, my level of inspiration is riding on the clouds right now! As you know, more reviews quicker updates! So, keep up the AWESOME work everybody and I'll keep a typing away! Oh, and please follow and favorite this story as well! See you all in the next chapter!**

**Rock Out!  
Kira**


	4. Chapter 4-Confrontation

**Who's ready for another chapter!? *listens to imaginary applause* Yeah, I thought so. But FIRST, a GINORMOUS thank you and cake to my eight most recent and AWESOME reviewers: Black Dragon Valkyrie, AnimeGmr101, Xerxes'Girl, verry-chan, SwingingOnAStar, spoiled princez, Pein's number 1 Girl, and anon! I LOVE YOU ALL SO SO SOOOO MUCH! *drags you all into a big bear group hug* Also, a HUGE thanks to all the people who have favorited and/or followed this story! Hope everyone enjoys chapter 4!**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Yu Yu Hakusho, nor its characters, NOR its plot! I only own my OC character Gray-Jay Crees, any other OCs I create along the way, and any part of the plot NOT a part of the anime and/or manga. This fanfic, however, is MINE and I'd like to keep it that way.**

* * *

**Chapter 4-Confrontation**

**Gray-Jay's P.O.V.  
**To speak, or not to speak, that tis the question!

Or some mumbo jumbo Shakespeare shit like that…

Damnit!

I looked up at the blue sky in silence as I sat on the roof during my lunch hour. It had now been three days since I stumbled upon that little 'incident' and I found myself just as troubled-

Yes, people, I was currently cursing the word to hell.

-as I had been that very night. My curiosity was practically eating me away! What was even worse was that Mr. Trouble himself was currently standing right beside me!

Looking up at the redhead beside me, I watched quietly as he leaned over the railing, peacefully drinking a soda that he had in hand. Silently, I debated on how to approach the sensitive subject, or whether to approach it at all for that fact. Bringing it up would be troublesome, that much I knew. But still…

Dying of curiosity was even worse.

Finally coming to a decision, I sighed, _"Well, here's goes nothing."_

Standing up, I waited until Shuichi took a large drink before dropping the bomb. Might as well make this shit funny, right?

"Soooo… How's the hunt for those spirit world artifacts going?" I randomly inquired, nonchalantly leaning back up against the railing.

Smothering a laugh, I was pretty sure I heard a small 'KABOOM' as if on cue the poor demon gagged on his drink and doubled over in a series of hacking coughs.

"And who's the cute blue-haired floating girl you were talking to the other night?" I continued, cracking a small grin, "She your girlfriend or something?"

Succeeding in clearing the soda from his throat, the redhead stood up to give me a look that clearly demanded me to explain. And seeing as he was still having trouble forming any words, I decided to elaborate.

"I sensed something odd when leaving your place the other night my mom and I came to dinner. Trusting in my instincts, I decided to take a peek and saw you and the floating chick talking."

As I figured, this little fact did _not_ make him a happy camper.

Green eyes narrowed as, for the first time that I'd seen, the innocent mask finally vanished from his face. "Just how much did you hear?" he asked carefully, his voice clipped and cold.

Not a surprise…

"Enough to know that you're looking for the artifacts stolen from spirit world, your real name is Yoko Kurama, and you're actually a demon." I stated without missing a beat.

The tension between us was so thick it was almost suffocating, but it was to be expected. I was playing with fire and I knew it. Having dropped the bomb, now all I could do was see what happened next.

Not being one for cowardice, I dragged my gaze from the sky to make contact with his eyes. I was quick to notice that'd they'd widened a fraction and showed a masked emotion of surprise.

"_Yoko_ Kurama?" he repeated in a soft, dangerous tone.

…

SHIT!

Quickly realizing my blunder my mouth opened to make a quick cover up, "Uh… That is…" Unfortunately, as you can see, nothing in particular came out.

I repeat, SHIT!

Faster than I could blink, I found both of his arms on either side of my body as he gripped the railing, trapping me between them and underneath his gaze.

"Uh, Shui-"

"Botan never mentioned my full name." the redhead glowered as he cut me off, looming over my being, "Therefore, how is it that you know what it is?"

Uh… My bad?

Yeaaah, I was beginning to think that this might be more trouble than it was worth.

And on top of that, I knew I'd been had. I had trapped myself in a corner with no way out except revealing the secret of me possessing ESP.

Damnit! Talk about effing troublesome! I positively hated talking about my abilities, for it always drew unwanted attention to myself. Usually in a bad way, as in past experiences most people who had learned of my abilities either dubbed me as a freak or simply just a liar.

Then again…

If Shuichi… Actually, I guess now Kurama was a demon, then the fact of me having ESP shouldn't really bother him. The very thought at least was enough to boost my moral up a couple notches and give me the courage to speak about it.

"ESP." I finally replied, "I knew almost as soon as we met. It happened when I shook your hand. You see, I can tell what a person's name is just by touching them."

Much to my relief, the chilliness slowly melted away from the young man's eyes. "You're a psychic?" he inquired, the curiosity beginning to make itself known in his voice again.

"Yeah, I suppose that's what one would call me." I shrugged indifferently, "I've always been able to sense and see things of the supernatural. I'm guessing your blue-haired friend was a ghost or something. That's why it surprised you that I could see her, right?"

"A grim reaper." Kurama chuckled softly, his eyes warming as he finally leaned back; letting the hostile air vanished around us as he no longer seemed to see me as so much of a threat, "And yes, I was surprised. But hearing that you're a psychic, I'd say that explains quite a few things."

"Gotcha." I replied with a small smile.

My smile was briefly returned, before a frown slowly marred the redhead's face, a bit of guilt showing in his eyes. "I'm sorry if I happened to scare you there, Miss Jay." He apologized sincerely, "It simply put me greatly on edge, your sudden knowledge of all this. For a moment, I suspected you might be an enemy."

"Again with the miss, huh?" I sighed softly, though my eyes revealed that it was in a teasing manner, "And didn't I tell you that apologies are troublesome. Besides, you didn't scare me. So, no worries."

A delicate eyebrow was raised at me in response, "Even though you just learned of me being a demon?"

"Yeah… Well, I kinda already suspected something like that. Having ESP, I could already tell that you were different from everyone else. On top of that, you said you were my friend." Again I let off a shrug, "So, there was no reason for me to be worried."

Though it didn't reach his eyes, my senses definitely told me that I had taken him aback with my statement.

"Even as a demon, you would still call me your friend?" the redhead asked in disbelief.

I gave him a confused look in return, "Yeah? Why the hell wouldn't I?" I paused briefly, "And if you're thinking it's simply because you're a demon then that's complete bullshit! And besides," I yawned as I slumped down to the ground and stretched out in the sun, "Judging people based on something as insignificant as their race is not only stupid, but _waaay_ too troublesome for my tastes."

Kurama's mouth opened as if to reply, but ended up shutting it without a sound as his shoulders slumped in defeat. So, instead of making any kind of comeback, he settled with just walking over and settling himself beside me in a comfortable manner.

"The logic behind your reasoning is truly odd coming from a human." The emerald eyed boy sighed softly, flicking a stray lock of feathery hair over his shoulder, "Though, it is not quite the first time I've been faced with such. A close friend of mine views things in a very similar manner." Kurama chuckled a bit, "It's almost a bit scary how much the two of you are alike."

A small smirk formed on my features, "Yeah, well, it just goes to prove that not all humans are as judgmental and can be more understanding than most people would think."

"Understanding, hm?" the demon mulled the word over thoughtfully, and I couldn't help but notice that my statement seemed to have struck some kind of cord with him, "Would that be in reference to yourself as well?"

"Yeah, I suppose." I blinked up at him in honesty, "Being a lazy sort does make me a pretty good listener."

I couldn't sworn I heard him chuckle at my ending statement before silence fell between us once again.

"Well then, considering how much you've told me about yourself, I suppose I ought to return the favor." The redhead finally spoke as he peered down at my lazy figure, awaiting my response.

I cracked a grin, "That would be nice."

A small smile formed on his face as he let out a soft sigh, "I suppose I should just start at the beginning."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"So, essentially you're just the soul of the fox demon, _Yoko_ Kurama trapped in a human body after transferring your spirit to the human world." I stated, beginning to get a grasp on his situation, "But like when fighting in the Dark Tournament, you can still use the majority of your demon powers."

"That's correct." The redhead replied, pleased that I was following, "However, I am quite a bit different then I was previously, due to the effects of temporarily becoming human. I believe the first sign of that were the affections I developed for my human mother."

"Right." I continued, "But the demon you is still there. Like when you went through a complete transformation during several of the tournament battles."

"Yes, Yoko Kurama and myself are still the same being. In fact," Kurama paused, as if debating whether or not to continuing talking, "The fact that I was able to completely transform symbolizes that my spirit energy is very near being completely restored."

Curiously, I pressed him onwards, "Yeah?"

Another hesitant pause.

"I've in fact had to be quite careful as of late. For I've actually been making transformation back and forth at random." The fox informed me with a tired look in his eyes, "You see, my demon spirit and spirit energy is currently trying to rebalance itself out with my new human body. Once that happens, I'll once again become a demon. However, I suspect my personality will be something in between my full demon self and my full human self, due to the two natures being forced to combine."

I blinked in slight confusion, "So, you're saying that your demon side's personality is different from the one you have now?"

A small glint of amusement showed in his eyes, "A bit, yes."

"Could you be anymore vague?" I grumbled softly under my breath with a yawn, earning a chuckle from the fox beside me. I was just about to finally drift off into never, never land when an idea suddenly struck me.

"Hey, Kurama?" I addressed the redhead, pausing briefly before randomly adding on, "You don't mind if I call you that, right?"

"When it's just the two of us, I'd actually prefer it, considering that very few are able to call me by my real name." He chuckled in reply, "Now, what is it?"

Well, this would probably end up coming back to bite me in the ass, but oh well.

"About those spirit world artifacts," I began before inquiring, "Do you have any pictures of them?"

A tad of wariness sparked within him upon bringing up the subject again, but the demon answered me truthfully none the less, "Yes. It'd be pretty hard for me to know what they looked like if I didn't."

Slowly, a grin made itself known on my face. "Kurama," I was pretty sure he could sense the excitement welling up beneath me, "if you want me to, then that means… I can find them."

* * *

**Ohohoho... Just what could Jay have up her sleeve, huh? Well, guess you'll just have to wait and see, lol! Haha, anyways, please PLEASE review! Everyone has been doing AWESOME when it comes to reviewing so keep up the good work and I'll keep typing away. :D Oh, and please follow and favorite this story as well. See you all in the next chapter!**

**Rock Out!  
Kira**


	5. Chapter 5-Lost and Found

**Oh, boy… Sorry for the wait everyone, but my dumb laptop crashed… again. UGH! Okay, so it didn't exactly crash, but it was running like REEEAAALLY slow! So, after looking and studying it over, my dad and I finally found the problem. It only had TWO ram in memory instead of FOUR! GAH! *hits head on desk* NO WONDER IT WAS RUNNING LIKE CRAP! Anyhoo… it's fixed now and I'm here presenting you with the next chapter. But first, a HUUUGE thank you and cake to my AWESOME and most recent eight reviewers: verry-chan, AnimeGmr101, spoiled princez, Anime-Kunoichi, Black Dragon Valkyrie, Fallen-Autumn-Leaves, DarkenedRoseDust, and Xerxes'Girl! I LOVE YOU ALL! Also, another huge thanks to all the people who have favorited and/or followed this story! Hope everyone enjoys chapter 5!**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Yu Yu Hakusho, nor its characters, NOR its plot! I only own my OC character Gray-Jay Crees, any other OCs I create along the way, and any part of the plot NOT a part of the anime and/or manga. This fanfic, however, is MINE and I'd like to keep it that way.**

* * *

**Chapter 5-Lost and Found**

**Kurama's P.O.V.  
**"Kurama," I could sense the excitement lacing her words, "if you want me to, then that means… I can find them."

My green eyes widened a fraction as I looked down at her grinning face. Honestly, I wondered how many times the girl felt she needed to surprise me, something that was usually very hard to do, until she was satisfied.

"Like I said before, I have ESP." Miss Jay continued, seeing that I was waiting for her to elaborate, "As long as I have a picture of the object and a map, I can show you where it is."

I studied her carefully, looking for any signs of deceit before asking, "And just what is your success rate?"

"One-hundred percent." The stormy-eyed girl stated with a smirk, seemingly amused by my skepticism.

The offer was tempting, I admit. Koenma had asked, more like forcefully tasked me to find these two particular relics for a reason none other than that they'd been utterly impossible to find otherwise. Not to mention that Koenma didn't know who stole them in the first place.

And there lay my problem with accepting Miss Jay's help.

By not knowing exactly who my enemy could be, I would not be able to properly access the danger that could come with this mission. Even if she was a psychic, I did not fancy the idea of endangering or putting her in harm's way.

"The risk is very high." I chose my words carefully, not wanting to offend her, "I do not believe it wise to involve you in this."

"Worrier, much?" Miss Jay raised a bemused eyebrow at me, "I'm not exactly helpless, Kurama."

"I prefer cautious to worrier. As for your second statement, I'm afraid I beg to differ, Miss Jay." I stated solidly, my eyes hardening a bit, "against a demon, you would be helpless."

A smirk flashed across the young female's face while the gold surrounding her iris flashed something unrecognizable. Dear Kami that couldn't be good.

"Just where did you draw that conclusion from?" the stormy-eyed psychic challenged.

I gave her a slightly confused look, "Explain your question."

"Well, it's understandable that you would know the strength of a demon, considering that you yourself more or less are one." The smirk vanished as Miss Jay gave me a surprisingly calculating look, "But since when did you possess the knowledge on the extent of my strength or abilities? Did you really think I'd already told you everything?"

She was playing on my curiosity, and both she and I knew it. Though, I admit I was a little taken aback on how persistent she was being considering that it seemed she usually tended to avoid troublesome things. "Why is it that you want to help in the first place?" I voiced my question out loud.

It was answered with an indifferent shrug, "Meh. It's pretty rare that I get the chance to use my ESP without all hell breaking lose cause of people's reactions to it. So, I guess this is just an opportunity I don't want to pass up."

A chance she didn't want to pass up, huh? So, that was the reason. Judging by how she spoke, the girl had probably been forced to keep her abilities a secret from most people for the majority of her life. Perhaps if I made a compromise…

"I admit, it would be incredible helpful if you showed me where the relics were." I finally sighed as I moved into a standing position, "However, you are only allowed to _show_ me on a map where they are located. After that, you're to forget any of this happened at all. Understood?"

"Aye, aye, Captain Sir." Miss Jay mock-saluted me with a lazy grin.

"Well, then," I allowed a small smile to grace my features as I offered the girl a helping hand to her feet, "We'll meet after school and go to my place. If necessary, just inform your mother that you're coming over to study."

"Gotcha." The black-haired psychic smirked as she grabbed my hand and leapt to her feet, "See ya then."

As I watched my laidback classmate walk down the stairs in front of me, I got the suspicious inkling that somehow this wouldn't end up being as simple as I was planning it to be.

* * *

**Gray-Jay's P.O.V.  
**I let a yawn escape my lips as I watched with bored eyes while the teacher scratched some grammatic mumbo jumbo on the chalkboard above. Thankfully though, this was my last class and then I'd be heading over to Kurama's to do something far more interesting. It would be a perfect opportunity to exercise my abilities without people going crazy nuts about it. To say that I was looking forward to my little afterschool task would be an understatement.

Funny, considering I usually tended to avoid these kind of troublesome things.

But from what I'd heard, it probably wouldn't be that big of a deal. After all, Kurama even said so himself. I would be allowed to show him where they were and that's it. There would then be no more talk about it. Period.

Simple. Just how I liked it.

Maybe that's why I wasn't so reluctant to let my abilities show through. Who knows?

"Miss Crees?" the teacher's voice cut into my thoughts, and I looked up to see him looking at me as if waiting for an answer.

Uh, my bad.

"Miss Crees, were you paying attention to anything I just said?" he glared at me with angry eyes.

"…"

"I thought not." The man glowered, "So, why don't you stay after class so you can do some of these lovely worksheets." He continued with a sadistic smile, "After all, we wouldn't want you falling behind now would we?"

Damnit.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

_"So long, sucker!" _I thought as I climbed out the classroom window. I'd managed to find a lucky break, for almost as soon as my after but in classroom homework had started, Mousier Stick Up His Ass was called to the front office; giving me my chance to escape. Luckily, my last class was held on the bottom floor of the school building.

Having successfully escaped from prison, I took off at full speed, hoping that my cranky teacher wouldn't think to look out a window and catch me in my flight. Reaching the school courtyard, my eyes darted around, searching the student crowd in hopes of spotting my red-headed friend.

"Miss Jay?" a voice spoke out behind me.

Whirling on heal, I nearly ran smack into Kurama's chest. "There you are." I let out a small breath of relief, taking a few steps back from his person, "I was looking for you."

"I see." He mused out loud, giving me a look over with keen emerald eyes, "But were you really so concerned that I might have gone on without you. Your breathing is quite ragged."

"Hehehe…" I laughed nervously, scratching the back of my head in a sheepish manner, "I kinda just fled from the language room in hopes of escaping my ass of a teacher. He probably won't be happy when he comes back and finds me missing.

The fox demon sweat-dropped, "Miss Jay-"

"Don't worry about it!" I commanded as I grabbed Kurama's hand and dragged him along, "I do this kind of thing all the time. Now, let's go before I get caught!"

He seemed slightly amused at my actions, but didn't particularly let it show. The only way I was able to tell was by the slight fluctuation in his emotions. But considering that I was a human more or less dragging a demon out of a school courtyard at a full run…

Yeah, I guess the thought was kinda amusing if ya thought about it.

Having escaped from school, after a long sprint, I finally slowed down before completely stopping and releasing my friend's hand. "Mission accomplished." I laughed softly, still rather out of breath from the run, "It's off to your place now, right?"

"Correct." Kurama smiled a bit as he looked at me. Not surprisingly, even after our little run, not a hair on his pretty little red-head was out of place. Hell! Not even his breathing was off, and we'd just done an all-out sprint! At the very least he should be breathing at least a _little_ harder! But _noooo_… he was just gonna stand there looking all smug and calm as I sat here panting my ass off!

…

Typical.

…

Dumb demon.

"Did you already alert your mother of your plans?" said dumb demon continued, snapping me out of my irritated inspection, "It would be best if she was not left to worry."

"Almost forgot." I admitted as I flipped out my cell and dialed my mother's number, "I'll give her a jingle now."

**_"Make it fast, Jay, I was about to head off to the market." _**My mother's slightly irritated voice came across the line.

"Yeah, yeah, will do." I chuckled a bit with a smirk, "Just wanted to let you know that I'm going over to Kur- I mean err… Shuichi's house for a bit."

**_"…"_**

"Mom?" I inquired a bit nervously, hoping that she hadn't caught on to my slight slip in speech.

**_"What for?" _**she asked, worry tinging her voice.

Wait… worry? Why was she worried?

"Just to catch up on some studying together." I reassured the woman, slightly confused at her reaction.

**_"I see." _**Her quite voice confused me even more as it seemed even more worried than before.

"Yeah, so, I'll be back a little later than usual, kay?" I pushed, hoping to figure out what was wrong.

**_"Alright… Love you, Jay-Jay." _**My mother's spoke fondly, seeming a little calmer now. But still…

"Love ya too." I replied, smiling a bit at the childhood nickname that my father had always used, "See ya."

**_"Jay?" _**the seriousness in her voice made me pause before hanging up, **_"Be careful."_**

I blinked in surprise at how dark the warning sounded, "R-Right."

"Is everything alright, Miss Jay?" Kurama inquired with a slightly worried expression as I slid my cell back into my pocket.

"Yeah…" I replied, probably sounding a little unsure as I thought about how odd my mom had acted on the phone. Worrying about me like that… It just wasn't like her.

"I see." The fox demon stated, seeming unconvinced by my answer, but accepted it none the less, "Then shall we go?"

I smirked a bit, pushing the troublesome matter to the back of my mind, "Lead the way."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Where's _your_ mom at?" I questioned the redhead as we headed up to his room.

"Work." He replied simply with a small smile, "She'll be back later this afternoon. So, we should have plenty of time."

"Right." I too smiled a bit as we stepped into his room. It was of decent size and simply decorated with a single bed, several unique looking plants sitting on a nearby dresser.

"Go ahead and make yourself comfortable." Kurama invited in a friendly manner, even though I could tell the fox was still a bit tense with the situation.

"Will do." I flashed a grin as I sat down in a chair at a desk.

"Alright, I do believe you said you'd need a picture of the relics and a map." The emerald-eyed boy stated as he momentarily vanished before coming back with several objects in tow, "Here you are."

"Straight to work, huh?" I sighed a bit before taking the objects he handed me. The first two, were pictures of a pair of what looked like angel's wings while the second was a map. "Here goes…" I muttered as I placed my hand over the two pictures and closed my eyes, focusing on the image that it left in my mind.

Several minutes of silence passed before I felt the familiar but indescribable need to move my right hand. Allowing my body to do as it subconsciously wished, I could feel my hand hover over the map laid beside me before my index finger fixed itself on a certain point. Instantly, the image of a large, exquisite looking mansion popped in my mind, causing me to jump slightly in my seat.

"Miss Jay?" I could vaguely hear Kurama's slightly worried voice.

"Just a sec." I spoke out quietly, "I… I can see a really rich looking mansion. There's a sign saying Watari on the front gate." More images continued to flash before my mind, "It's far out in a secluded area, surrounded by a shit load of guards. I think," I paused briefly as I studied them, "I think they're demons. Dunno, they're giving off a weird vibe, like the one I got from you. Some are stronger and some are weaker." I jerked painfully a powerful stinging suddenly assaulted my senses.

"Miss Jay!" the fox hissed, more urgently this time as I felt a pair of warm, powerful, yet gentle hands clamp over my shoulders.

"There's a really powerful one somewhere inside. Just give me another moment." I pleaded as I continued with my search. My senses were suddenly transported into a large, fancy looking room, the angel's wings sitting propped up on a pedestal. "Found them." I stated, a smirk gracing my features, "The relics are in a large, bright room somewhere down in a basement, I think. Let me see if I can-"

**_"So you're the one intruding in this place." _**A sickeningly cold voice suddenly cut into my senses, **_"GET OUT!"_**

My stormy-eyes flew open with shock as my conscious was sent flying back into my body, leaving me gasping for breath as a sharp pain shot through me. Just what the hell-

"Are you alright!?" Kurama's sharp tone snapped me to attention as I looked up into a pair of worried emerald orbs.

"Yeah, everything's cool." I laughed weakly, sagging back into the chair as the pain dissipated from my body, "Just got my subconscious ass booted outta the mansion is all. No biggee."

* * *

**Kurama's P.O.V.  
**"Just what happened?" I inquired, slightly confused on what she meant.

"I heard a voice." Miss Jay seemed to cringe slightly at the memory, "It told me to get out, then there was like a sharp pain, and I opened my eyes to be back here."

"I see. Seems we've had an interesting turn of events." I stated as I looked down at her amused but still slightly pained expression, "I think it would be best if I contacted Koenma, he's the son of spirit world's king, and let him know what you saw."

"Gotcha." Miss Jay nodded as she turned her attention back to the map, "I'll keep looking to see if I discover anything more."

"Are you sure?" I inquired, remembering how during her search she'd suddenly seemed in pain.

"Not a problem." The black-haired girl grinned, "Seriously, man, stop worrying. Sheesh! I'm fine, I tell you!"

I smiled gratefully at her willingness to help, despite how troublesome it was turning out to be, "Then you have my thanks."

"Heh. Get outta here." She smirked as she waved me out of the room, "You'll only be a distraction."

Chuckling a bit, I excited the room and flicked out a widescreen cellphone used specifically for contacting spirit world on quick notice.

"Oh, I see it's you, Kurama." The young ruler popped up on the screen, "How has the hunt for the relics been going?"

"Good and bad." I answered honestly, "We've discovered that both the relics are being held at the Watari Mansion. Unfortunately, the Watari family is not only ridiculously wealthy but seems to have close ties with many demons and are using most of them as guards, one seeming to be more powerful than the rest. Their place is well fortified."

"I see." Koenma pondered before suddenly realizing the beginning of my statement, "Wait a moment, Kurama. What do you mean by, _we_?"

"The person who found them is a young female psychic." I admitted with a soft sigh, knowing there was no point in trying to lie, "She's just transferred to Japan from the United States and attends my school here in the human realm."

The baby prince opened his mouth, no doubt to yell at me for involving someone not associated with spirit world, before a thoughtful look suddenly crossed his face. "I assume you know what her name is?" he inquired instead.

"Gray-Jay Crees." I answered calmly.

Not being there in person, I couldn't be certain, but I was fairly sure I saw Koenma tense at the name. "And her mother and father?" he continued, his voice forcefully calm.

"Kayla Crees is her mother. I'm afraid I do not know what her father's name is, or… was. Quite reluctantly, she told me he passed away three years ago." I replied, beginning to become slightly worried myself at the toddler's reaction.

Apparently, I wasn't imagining his tenseness as for a brief instant his eyes showed both recognition and shock. "I see." His voice sounded strained while his eyes held a serious tone, "I'll notify Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Hiei to join you on this case as well. One can never be too careful, after all."

"I'm inclined to agree with you." I smirked slightly, remembering how that was always the code I'd lived by, especially when I had led my gang of thieves back in the days when I was Yoko.

"You'll all meet at Genkai's tomorrow morning." Koenma continued, pausing briefly before he continued, "And bring Miss Crees with you as well."

My green eyes widened a fraction as I received my orders, "You wish me to bring her along?" Just what was he thinking!? No, just what was he _planning_? It was all too obvious to me that Keonma recognized Miss Jay's name, or at least her surname. But how so, and why did it cause him to react the way he did?

"That's right." The infant ruler suddenly seemed a bit nervous as he discussed my stormy-eyed friend, "She's proved to be exceptionally helpful so far, and I'm sure she'll continue to be."

True enough, he wasn't lying, but I could tell that there was so much more he was hiding. However, it looked like I'd have to find that out on my own. Smirking slightly, my green eyes flickered with a hint of gold as I gave the prince a dangerous look, "Very well, understood."

* * *

**My, my... So, what do YOU think? What was Jay hinting at by saying she hadn't told Kurama everything? Why was her mother so oddly concerned? Why does Koenma seem to recognize Jay's name? Or maybe it's her mother's name... or father maybe? So many mysteries, yes? *evil grin* Let me know what you think about them in the reviews! Yes, PLEEEEAAASE review people! You have been doing an AWEEEESOME so far! So, again, keep up the good work and I'll keep a typing away! *grins* Oh, and please follow and favorite this story as well. See everyone in the next chapter!**

**Rock Out!  
Kira**


	6. Chapter 6-Mystery Tags

**Sound the trumpets everyone! Haha, I'm back with another awesome chapter! However, before we move on, a HUGE thanks and cookies to my eight most AWESOME and recent reviewers: Black Dragon Valkyrie, 4fireking, AnimeGmr101, spoiled princez, Kunoichi Chaos, Xerxes'Girl, emo steve, and Random is random! Really, you guys/girls ARE my inspiration! I LOVE YOU ALL SOOO MUCH! Also, a big thanks to all the people who have favorited and/or followed this story! Hope everyone enjoys chapter 6!**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Yu Yu Hakusho, nor its characters, NOR its plot! I only own my OC character Gray-Jay Crees, any other OCs I create along the way, and any part of the plot NOT a part of the anime and/or manga. This fanfic, however, is MINE and I'd like to keep it that way.**

* * *

**Chapter 6-Mystery Tags**

**Gray-Jay's P.O.V.  
**"The prince of spirit world what?" I demanded unenthusiastically, hoping that I'd heard wrong.

"Koenma wishes for you to continue assisting us with this case." Kurama explained calmly, though I could detect a hint of exasperation from his being, "We'll be meeting up with a few others at the house of a powerful psychic named Genkai."

You've got to be kidding me! Though, I guess this is what I get for sticking my nose in where it didn't belong. And come to think of it, that name… Genkai, it sounded really familiar. Huh, I wonder why?

"Ugh!" I groaned as I flopped back in the desk chair, deciding that it couldn't be helped, "Fine."

"You have my apologies, Miss Jay. As you know, I did not particularly want you to become involved at all in the first place." The fox apologized with a slightly apprehensive look.

"Like I said before, apologies are troublesome. So, don't sweat it. Besides," I yawned lazily as I gave him an indifferent look, "I'm the one who insisted on helping in the first place. Therefore, if things turn out to be troublesome, then the blame rests solely on my shoulders. Your conscience ought to be clear."

"As usual, your simple reasoning is unbelievable." The red-haired boy shook his head with a small, amused smile before pulling up another seat and sitting down beside me, "So, did you find anything else while I was talking to Koenma?"

"Afraid not." I admitted with a small scowl, "After getting my ass booted out the first time, seems I can't get my consciousness back in."

"I see…" the redhead mulled over thoughtfully before turning back to face me, "Then you should go ahead and inform your mother that you'll be spending the night, for we'll need to set out quite early tomorrow morning."

"Oh, boy… that ain't gonna make her happy." I sighed, whipping out my cellphone, but paused as I gave Kurama a curious look, "Just where am I gonna sleep?"

A thoughtful look crossed his face as he pondered over the thought. "That's a good question." The fox spoke his thoughts out loud, "We have three bedrooms… my parents, mine, and my younger brothers. I suppose since he's currently on a school trip you could take his-"

Okay, I may be indifferent about most shit, but sleeping in another younger boy's bed just did not appeal to me. "I'll just sleep on the floor in your room." I interjected with a wry smile, seeming to take Kurama by surprise with my statement, "Just let me borrow a pillow and a blanket and it'll be good."

"Alright then." The red-haired demon blinked at me, "If you don't mind such a thing, then I'm perfectly fine with such a solution."

"No worries. You're a gentleman, after all. So, it's all cool." I grinned as I dialed my mom's number, hoping that she wouldn't be too pissed off at me spending the night at another guy's place.

**_"Jay, is that you?" _**my mother's worried tone cut across the line.

"Yeah." I answered promptly, wondering what was wrong, "Is everything okay?"

**_"Yes, everything's fine." _**She stated before adding, **_"Where are you?"_**

"Still at Shuichi's." I replied.

A moments worth of awkward silence passed before she muttered softly, **_"I see."_**

"Yeah, and about that…" I continued with a deep breath, "You see, it seems I've got a lot more stuff to catch up on then I originally thought. So, Shuichi and I are gonna continue studying. Therefore, I'll be spending the night over here at his house."

**_"…"_**

"Mom?" I inquired worriedly.

**_"Just studying?" _**the dark-haired woman repeated, an oddly suspicious tone lacing her voice.

Damnit! Just what the hell's been up with her as of late?! "Yes, Mom, just studying." I growled, slightly annoyed, "Stop thinking up perverted stuff!"

I could have sworn I heard a small chuckle off to my left.

Ass.

**_"That… That's not what I meant, dear." _**Mom continued in a softer tone before sighing, **_"But I understand. I'll be over in a couple of minutes to drop off your night ware to you."_**

"Uh, okay. See ya in a bit." I spoke into the phone with slight confusion, "Love ya."

"Right back at you, Jay-Jay. Bye." She stated before hanging up.

"Did everything work out alright?" Kurama questioned as I slipped my cell back into my pocket.

"I think so." I replied, my eyebrows creasing slightly in thought, "She said she's gonna run over real fast and drop off some of my night stuff. I dunno though, something just seemed… off about her."

"Off?" the fox tilted his head slightly in question.

"Meh. Don't worry about it." I waved him off, violently dismissing the thought that he looked kinda cute like that. "In the meantime." I grinned evilly, "How about a game of poker?"

Green eyes momentarily lit up at the prospect of a challenge, "I'd be delighted to."

"Better be prepared." I continued to grin, "Cause I'm gonna whoop your ass this time, fox boy!"

He smirked, "We shall see."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"DAMNIT, KURAMA!" I roared, flopping back exasperatedly in my chair as I let the cards drop into my lap, "Stop cheating!"

The fox gave me a highly amused look. "An interesting request, considering that you yourself are cheating as well." He pointed out.

"Yeah, but you're like cheating AT cheating!" I accused, not missing the fact that what I said really hadn't made much sense, "GAH! I mean how else could you OUT cheat me!?"

"Not only am I over a couple thousand years old, but I was also a thief, remember?" Kurama smirked, seeming to take great amusement in my frustrations, "It's only natural that I'd pick up some tricks of the trade, don't you think?"

"Yeah, I suppose… Wait a moment!" I jerked back up into my chair to give him an incredulous look, "Shit, Kurama, did you just say you were a couple THOUSAND years old!?"

"Yes." Green eyes twinkled with the laugh he suppressed at my reaction, "Is there a problem with that?"

"Well, no." I stuttered, getting myself comfortable as I began shuffling the cards, "It's just… bloody hell, man, you're really old!"

This time the redhead allowed a small laugh to escape him, "Yes, I suppose a human such as yourself would think so."

Making a face, which only seemed to amuse the demon all the more, I was about to deal the cards – from the bottom, I might add – before I picked up the sound of a car pulling into the parking lane.

"Seems your mother's here." Kurama pointed out.

"Seems like. Be right back." I informed him before getting up and heading for the door. However, I paused before stepping out and turned to shoot the fox a glare, "And if you dare touch that deck of cards while I'm gone, Kurama, I swear on a stack of bibles I'll grab a butcher knife and cut your hands off."

A delicately amused eyebrow was raised at my threat. "Is that because you're afraid of me stacking the deck or," he smirked, "is it because the deck, perhaps, is already stacked." At my sputtering and disbelieving face he continued, "True enough, you did do an excellent job by keeping me distracted with talking. However, I hope you realize that I still caught you during the shuffling, right?"

"How the hell did you spot that!?" I snapped.

"I didn't." this time the fox outright grinned, "But I suspected, and you just admitted it."

…

_"Aaassssshooole!" _I swear once I got back in I was gonna strangle the smug little bastard. Though, once outside the door, I couldn't help but laugh. It had been a long time since I'd felt like this, since I'd felt so… happy and energized. I dunno, after meeting Kurama, it seemed like I wanted to do things again that I hadn't done in like forever! At least, not since my dad had passed away…

It was as if I was waking up from a three years slumber. Everything I was doing with Kurama, laughing and joking around, playing poker again, using my ESP, actually for once feeling motivated to do something… These were all things I'd barely done if at all since Dad had died. It was kinda nice.

"Jay?"

I smiled as I watched my mom step out of the car, holding a duffle bag in her arms. "Thanks for coming to drop this stuff off, Mom." I said as I walked up and took the object, slinging it over my shoulder.

"You're welcome, sweetheart." The woman replied gently, and if I didn't know any better, I'd say she was close to tears.

…

Shit! She was!

"Mom!?" this time my voice was more demanding as I gripped her hand in mine, "Just what the hell's going on? What's wrong!?"

Before I could say anymore, I found myself dragged into her embrace as she hugged me like it was our last day on earth together.

I didn't get it! She seemed so… distraught. Was another psychic research institute bugging her to transfer me to them? Assholes never seemed to leave us alone. It was part of the reason we'd moved away from them to Japan.

Finally, as my mind continued to whirl with random, horrible things that could be wrong, my mother pulled away and gently brushed away some of the stray bangs falling into my face. "You're going somewhere dangerous, aren't you?" my mother asked quietly, her eyes holding a deep sorrow within them.

"Huh?" I blinked at her in surprise, "Just what gives you that idea?"

"Call it a mother's intuition." She laughed humorously.

"A mother's… intuition?" I asked in confusion.

"I just get this feeling." the dark-haired woman continued quietly, "I know I don't have the abilities like you do, Jay, but I just get this strange feeling when around Shuichi. Also, it's so odd for you to get along so well with someone else. The only explanation I can find for you two's quick bonding is…"

A sting of guilt pierced my heart, "Mom, I-"

The dark-haired woman held up her hand for silence before handing me a small box. "I understand. Your father warned me that a day like this would come." She stated softly, "When a simple 'be careful' from your mother would no longer be enough to protect you."

"Dad did?" I inquired in surprise.

"Yes, and he said when that day finally came, to give you this." My mother indicated for me to open the small box in which I was holding.

Abiding by her wishes, I opened it up only to have my eyes widen with shock at what I saw. For lying inside on some soft white tissue, was a pair of dog tag necklaces with the name Dante S. Crees inscribed upon them. They were the one my father had worn back in his army days before he met my mother and became a psychic researcher. So many times I'd sat on his lap when I was just a kid, playing with the worn trinkets as I listened to his war stories.

"Your father left only one other instruction." Mom continued, seeing that I was currently too choked up to speak, "He said that once you put them on, to never take them off, no matter what."

I nodded painfully, unable to speak and barely keeping the tears from spilling over down my cheeks. Gently, my mother's hands cupped mine before picking up the necklaces and placing them around my neck. Smiling gently, she pulled back away and gave me a look over.

"He would be proud of you." She stated with a teary smile.

I smiled at her in return as I gently fingered the precious treasures hanging around my neck. "Maybe so." I said softly, remembering the man who had been and always would be the greatest subject of my admiration, "But not as proud I am to simply be called his daughter."

* * *

**Kurama's P.O.V.  
**Still debating on whether or not I wanted to go ahead and rearrange the deck of cards sitting in front of me, my decision came too late as Miss Jay reentered the house. However, she wasn't the same irritated and laughing girl who had exited the door just minutes ago. Her heart was heavier now, and my sensitive nose quickly picked up the scent of dried salt; signifying that she'd been crying.

Worriedly, I stood up and quickly approached her, wondering if something had happened between her and her mother. The stormy-eyed girl did say that the woman had been acting oddly as of late.

"Miss Jay?" my voice was soft as I addressed her, "Is something wrong?"

She blinked up at me as if slightly surprised by my question, "No, everything's fine. I got my stuff from my mom, so sleeping over shouldn't be a problem. Why do you ask?"

I sighed softly at her stubbornness. It was so painfully obvious to me that she was lying. So, bringing a hand to gently brush the soft skin beneath her eyes, I decided to address the topic directly, "You were crying."

"I wasn't crying." The girl insisted, her stormy eyes hardening as any pained emotions remaining within them vanished, "I just got something in my eyes."

_"Both of them?" _I was tempted to challenge but reluctantly decided to drop it, not wanting to upset her more then she already was. Of course, that didn't mean I wouldn't ask her later, but now clearly was not the time. At least, that was what I decided until I spotted the two chain necklaces hanging around her neck. The ornaments on the end looked suspiciously like dog tags.

"Where did those come from?" I spoke my question out loud as I gestured to the two objects, for if my memory served me correctly, she had not been wearing them before.

The young girl blinked briefly before looking down at her necklaces, seeming to debate on whether or not to speak about them. "My mother gave them to me." Miss Jay finally admitted, pausing for a moment before continuing, "They're a final present to me from my Dad. These necklaces are his dog tags from back when he was in the army. His last words with them was that I was never to take them off."

_"She's never to take them off?" _I wondered silently as I looked at the trinkets, and yet, seemingly old as they might be, I could sense… something strange emitting from them. Though, I suppose now I knew why the girl seemed so emotional, receiving something so sentimental from her father. Judging by her reactions and how she spoke of him, I could only guess that the two were very close. And on another note…

"I thought your father was a psychic researcher." I stated with a hint of confusion. This seemed to finally bring a smile to her face as we returned to the living room.

"He was." Miss Jay admitted, her features softening a bit, "But that was after he met Mom. Back when he was twenty-two, Dad joined the United States Army and right after getting out of college and served for six years. After that, he met my mother, and became psychic researcher since that's what his degree had specialized in. Then another year later, I was born."

"It sounds like the two of you were very close." I spoke gently, voicing my previous thoughts.

"We were." The young girl smiled, "He was the one who taught me to use and control my psychic abilities in the first place."

Well, that made sense. Considering that the man was a psychic researcher, it only made sense that he would possess the knowledge to train his own daughter. Watching as Miss Jay re-picked up the deck of cards to shuffle them, no doubt on suspicions that I had stacked the deck – a suspicion that I had deeply considered fulfilling – I tilted my head slightly so that I could read the name printed on the tags hanging from her neck.

DANTE S. CREES

My eyebrows furrowed thoughtfully, as my mind fell deep into thought. Just where had I run across that name before?

* * *

**Fufufufu... More mysteries! Haha, I know, I'm evil. *grins* But all will be answered in time. But in the MEAN-time, what did you guys/girls think? PLEEEAAASE review! I seriously can't believe how AWESOME you guys/girls have been being so far! So, keep it up and I'll keep posting new chapters! Also, please follow and favorite this story as well! See everyone in the next chapter!**

**Rock Out!  
Kira**


	7. Chapter 7-Night With a Fox

**Yahooo! *suddenly covers mouth* Oops… I kinda just pulled a Black Star move there, didn't I? XD Haha, anyways, thank you guys/girls SOOO much for loving this story! Also, some more thanks AND some cookies for my AWESOME and most recent seven reviewers: wolf girl 4797, Xerxes'Girl, AnimeGmr101, Black Dragon Valkyrie, spoiled princez, verry-chan, and DivineTrance13! I LOVE YOU ALL! *glomp hugs you* Also, another HUGE thanks to all the AMAZING people who have favorited and/or followed this story. I hope everyone enjoys chapter 7! It's a bit longer than most of the others. XD**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Yu Yu Hakusho, nor its characters, NOR its plot! I only own my OC character Gray-Jay Crees, any other OCs I create along the way, and any part of the plot NOT a part of the anime and/or manga. This fanfic, however, is MINE and I'd like to keep it that way.**

* * *

**Chapter 7-Night With a Fox**

**Kurama's P.O.V.  
**I tilted my head slightly so that I could read the name printed on the tags hanging from her neck.

DANTE S. CREES

The name was extremely familiar in my mind, making me feel as if I'd heard it somewhere before. I had an inkling that I'd come across it briefly when digging through some of the records in spirit world, but I couldn't remember what it said about the man.

"Your play." Miss Jay snapped me out of my thoughts as she finished dealing and gathered up her hand.

"Of course." I smiled a bit, about to pick up my own hand of cards until the phone suddenly rang.

"Ring, ring, hello." My opponent spoke with a lazy smirk of amusement, "You should probably answer that."

I raised an eyebrow at her interesting little saying but went to go answer the phone all the same, wondering if the girl intended to sneak a peek at my cards while left unattended. "You've reached the Minamino house." I spoke politely as I picked up the line.

**_"Ah, Shuichi dear?" _**my mother's voice spoke in its usual gentle tone.

"Mother?"I inquired, slightly surprised, for she should be on her way home from work by now, "Is everything alright?"

**_"Oh, yes, everything's fine, dear." _**She softly chuckled off my concern, **_"I just called to tell you that due to the busy schedule, a large selection of nurses at the hospital are being asked to stay and work through the night. So, I'm afraid I won't be home until sometime in the morning."_**

"I see." I replied calmly.

**_"Is everything alright, dear?" _**the gentle woman continued worriedly, **_"Will you be alright taking care of dinner on your own? If you want, you can order something and have it delivered."_**

"You don't have to worry about it, Mother." I reassured her, even though dinner honestly hadn't even crossed my mind, "A friend of mine will be spending the night so we can study together for an upcoming quiz. As for dinner, I'm sure the two of us will come up with something."

**_"Oh, alright then."_** I could almost see the motherly smile on her face, **_"If you don't mind my asking, Shuichi, which friend?"_**

"Miss Jay, actually." I admitted.

**_"Oh, how lovely." _**My mother quipped back, seemingly cheered by my statement, **_"Well, I'm afraid I have to go. Love you, sweetheart, and have fun."_**

"It's just studying, Mother, but we will." I allowed a soft smile to adorn my features, "And I love you as well. Goodbye."

Hanging up the phone, a small sigh escaped me. So, as it turned out, Miss Jay and I would be spending the night here alone together. Silently, I could only hope that she wouldn't feel too awkward about the matter, especially since it seemed she would be sleeping on the floor in my room. Then again, it _was_ her who had suggested as much in the first place, and one of the first things I'd learned about her was that she didn't seem to follow the morals that most human girls her age did. As usual, I honestly couldn't predict what the stormy-eyed girl would do. Miss Jay may very well take it with an indifferent grain of salt like she seemed to do most things in life, and on another note, she could do something entirely different. With her, one could really never tell.

* * *

**Gray-Jay's P.O.V.  
**The cloudy emotion of slight indecision wafted into my senses, making me wonder what was going on over the phone that could have Kurama feeling that way. I didn't have to wait long, however, before the fox reappeared with a slightly troubled look on his face as he sat back down at the living room table.

"Everything okay, Red?" I inquired with a raised eyebrow, using a spur of the moment nickname in hopes of cheering the guy up.

"It seems my mother will be working the graveyard shift tonight." He replied calmly, folding his hands under his chin as he gave me a studious look, "That means that it will just be you and me tonight. I hope you won't mind. However, if it's two awkward for you, then I don't mind letting you have my bed while I use my younger brother's-"

To be honest, the fact that it was just gonna be the two of us sleeping in the same room together when _no_ _one_ else was around did bother me a bit. True, I may be a mostly indifferent person, but I admit that this one was kinda pushing it. However, I sure as hell wasn't gonna be the person to boot Kurama out of his own damn room! I mean, come on! I'm not that much of an asshole!

_"Suck it up, girl! This is hardly the time for your near non-existent feminine side to start feeling self-conscious!"_

"Seriously, Kurama, it's fine!" I insisted, though I'd dub only thirty percent of that statement as the truth, "It's not a big deal. So, as long as you don't mind sharing a room for the night than don't worry about it."

It didn't look like the redhead was completely convinced with my statement, but it didn't seem like he intended to push the subject; probably because he knew that all hell would freeze over before someone like me would actually admit that I felt a little self-conscious…

Or awkward.

Or embarrassed.

Hell! As lazy and indifferent as I was, I was still a girl! Seriously, why did I even bother getting involved with all this wacko stuff again?

Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if he could smell that fact that I was more or less lying. Kurama was a fox demon, after all.

Though, wasn't the fact that he could detect if I was lying or not simply by sense of smell kinda cheating?

…

Then again, I guess I could tell if someone was lying or not just by the fluctuation in their emotions. So, I suppose I had no room to talk.

"Anyways," Kurama's ever calm voice broke into my silent rambling, "since my mother won't be here, that means that we're on our own for dinner. Is there anything in particular that you'd like to have? She gave me permission to order and have something delivered."

Blinking my troublesome thoughts away -

That's right, remember!? I don't like troublesome things!

- I gave the emerald-eyed boy my signature look of pristine laziness. "I dunno." A yawn escaped me as I slouched down onto the table, "Ordering something is such a pain, especially since we'd have to go through the stupid debate of what we'd want to order. Wouldn't it be simpler if I just whipped us up something real quick?"

Tilting his head slightly, the fox gave me a slightly interested look, "You can cook?"

_"Shit! There's that look again, damnit! What the hell is wrong with me!?" _I mentally cursed myself. Okay, I know Kurama's was just my friend and all, but he really did look cute like that. In all honesty, the head tilt was so slight, most people probably wouldn't even notice it.

But I did.

And as almost microscopic as it was, it was still… Damnit, I'm rambling again! Just forget everything I just said.

"Fair enough, yeah." I replied with a shrug, officially deciding that I was no longer going to notice any more physical qualities about the redhead sitting in front of me.

Though, come to think of it, just saying he was a redhead stated a physical quality as well.

…

Oh geez, my brain really just needed to shut-up. In fact, I just didn't care anymore, _"So, go ahead and just think what you want, brain. I'm tired of arguing with ya anyways. Seriously, I give up."_

When was the last time I had taken a nap again? Cause I could sure use one right about now.

"Miss Jay?" the fox tilted his head a fraction farther, probably wondering why I was so spaced out, "Are you alright?"

"Tell me." I spoke bluntly, for I had found that doing so was always the best way to rid a troublesome thought from my mind, "Tilting your head like that, do you do that when you're trying to pick up a girlfriend. Cause to be honest, even I think it's kinda cute."

Kurama blinked once, twice, oh hell even a third time before he actually spoke again, as if digesting the words that I'd just said. Finally, after a couple seconds of blinkified silence, a fair helping of amusement made its way to those emerald orbs of his as he answered with a simple and well clarified, "No."

"I see." I replied indifferently, standing as I made my way into the kitchen, "Well, keep it in mind, cause in this day and age, most girls would fall head over heels for that."

A soft chuckle assaulted my ears from the other room, "I'll keep that in mind."

"Yeah, yeah," I muttered, knowing he could hear me as I rummaged through some of the cupboards, "Say, Kurama, you got any noodles? If ya do, I could just whip us up some ramen or something. Quick and simple."

Clearly still feeling amused with my previous statement, it was only a moment before fox appeared in the kitchen with me as well. "Try the upper right cupboard." He said simply.

"Gotcha." I replied as I pulled out the small noodle pack and set it beside the stove. Grabbing a pan, I filled it about two-thirds up with water before setting on the stove to boil. Afterwards, with Kurama telling where things were, I grabbed some green onions and laid them out on a cutting board. Grabbing a nearby knife, I grinned briefly as I went to work, "Let's get this show on the road."

* * *

**Kurama's P.O.V.  
**I watched, mostly in silence, as Miss Jay went about her work. Her skill in the kitchen was clearly more then what she'd let on as she handled the knife with skillful ease as her hands practically flew over the ingredients she seemed to randomly add to the pot.

I knew better, though, to assume that such things were added at random, for it was quite obvious to my keen eye that Miss Jay clearly knew what she was doing.

To be honest, I was still replaying the scene that had happened just minutes beforehand in my mind. True enough, I had had plenty of human females from my school comment about my looks, and even ask me out. Though, I had politely turned them down. However, never in my entire existence had I run into a girl who had so bluntly complimented me without seeming to care one way or the other. I realized that, as the young female saw it, she had made nothing more than a simple statement.

It was these kind of little quirks in Miss Jay's personality that I found made her… intriguing.

Yes, not only at this point had I begun to more or less consider her as a friend, but I couldn't help but consider her a most intriguing human being as well; much like Yusuke when I'd first met him.

In a way, the stormy-eyed girl bustling around in front of me was so secretive and yet, at the same time, so brutally honest as well. The more secretive side made me curious about her, while the brutally honest part of her made me wish to be straight forward with her myself.

The feeling I got when around Miss Jay, it was comfortingly close to the one I got when around Yusuke, and yet… I still couldn't help but feel it was a little different, for unlike Yusuke, Miss Jay was a far more difficult person to read.

Again, that's what made her so interesting.

True enough, Yusuke was not predictable, but he _was_ readable, and there's where lay the greatest difference between the two. When she wanted to be, Miss Jay could be _both_ unpredictable _and_ unreadable.

However, I got the feeling sometimes that that wasn't exactly intentional. More like a side-effect of not being particularly close to anyone during her life. But on subject of that topic, I felt that it wouldn't be incorrect to say that the girl at least trusted me to a certain extent. She had stated that I was her friend, after all.

_"Who knows?" _A bit of a smile crossed my face at the thought, _"In a little time, she just may open up completely."_

In the end, patience was what would always be the key.

* * *

**Gray-Jay's P.O.V.  
**"I have to admit," Kurama spoke with a slightly impressed tone to his voice after taking a sip of the broth while we sat together at the kitchen table, "you're actually a really good cook."

"Meh. Thanks." I shrugged, though inwardly I had to admit I did feel a bit pleased to have my cooking skill complimented, "I'm pretty handy when it comes to making pastas and such. Anyways, I'm glad ya like it."

He smiled a bit in return before returning to his meal.

I couldn't help but notice how calm his emotions and aura felt at the moment. It was a bit confusing, how at ease Kurama seemed compared to what he usually was, for it'd become quite obvious to me that the fox never completely let his guard down. As always, I could still detect that cold, dangerous underlining beneath it all, but right now… even that seemed to have diminished greatly.

At the same time, it was a little nostalgic as well. The last time I remembered thoroughly enjoying a truly relaxing meal like this was when my dad was still alive. In fact, come to think of it, I hadn't cooked anything ever since he'd passed away. Again, Kurama just seemed to have an odd effect on me when it came to things like this. And once again, it really did feel… rather nice.

Good grief! Did I really just think all that? Gosh, I was beginning to sound like an old lady. Meh… I was probably just tired. Yeah, just tired. That's what it was.

Subconsciously, upon mentally mentioning the subject of tired, my shoulders ending up drooping as I finished my meal while a yawn escaped my lips.

"Tired?"

My eyes blinked briefly as I looked up to meet Kurama's ever calm emerald gaze. "Yeah." I admitted with another yawn, "Admitted… It has been a rather long day."

The fox gave me a small smile before getting up and gathering both his and my dishes. I was about to protest and say that I could clean up after myself when he cut me off.

"Since you cooked dinner, I'll do the clean-up." The redhead stated, not leaving me with much room to argue, "In the meantime, you can use our shower if you want. It'll probably help you sleep better."

"I think I'll take you up on that offer." I smiled back at my friend before heading to the living room. Grabbing some soft black and gray shorts and a loose white tank-top, I made my way to the bathroom before hopping in a hot shower.

Seriously, after the odd day I'd had, the shower felt wonderful! I was beginning to wonder if I'd suddenly died and gone to heaven. I mean, let's review what's happened so far today…

First, I confirmed Kurama was a demon and learned all about his foxy past including the fact that his previous occupation was a master thief. Secondly, I'd been imprisoned and barely escaped my evil language teacher. After that, I'd gone to Kurama's and used my ESP to find a pair of angel's wings, resulting in subconsciously meeting the voice of one who I could only guess to be a demon guardian the two relics.

Uh-huh, I believe I could accurately say that I'd had a full day.

A soft sigh left my lips at the thought as I leaned my forehead up against the shower wall, _"Just what happened to not getting involved in troublesome things?"_

* * *

**_Later that night…  
_****Kurama's P.O.V.  
**It was a little passed eleven o'clock as I lay on my bed and stared silently at the dark ceiling, perfectly and widely awake.

Why?

Because currently, sleeping directly beside my bed and on the floor was Miss Jay, whose presence I found myself all too aware of lying here in the darkness. Though not in a particularly bad way, I was still extremely aware of her presence in my room.

Her breathing was soft and even, signifying that she was asleep, while her aura was at ease, stating that she clearly felt safe in my presence. A sent almost like fresh mountain rain continued to brush across my sensitive nose, keeping my sense of smell thoroughly occupied as I found myself unable to concentrate on any other scents.

Although, I had to admit her scent was actually rather pleasant.

To be honest, I didn't really understand why it bothered - if that was even the right word - me so much. It was strange, for normally my sleep wouldn't and _shouldn't_ be hindered in this kind of situation. Yet, it was.

"The heck… dumb tard…"

I blinked out of my thoughts as Miss Jay's mumbling voice assaulted my ears, followed by the rustling of blankets. Turning over on my side so that I could peer down at her, I found myself looking at a rather amusing picture.

My female classmate, who was lying on her back, had mostly kicked off her blanket and had also managed to slide half her body off her air mattress and onto the floor. Her loose white tank top was pulled halfway up her body, reveling the whole of her torso. Unfortunately, I was not quite quick enough to avert my gaze from the somewhat immodest image she made.

A soft sigh escaped my lips as I slid out of bed, being careful not to step on her. Miss Jay had most comically warned me that if I did such a thing, even if on accident, that she would bit my foot off. Bending down, I very slowly grabbed the girl's bare legs and sat them back on the mattress, vaguely noting that her light caramel tanned skin was actually extremely soft. Pushing the unwanted thought away, I grabbed Miss Jay's blanket and recovered her. It wouldn't due for her to catch a cold.

Satisfied, I continued crouching on the floor for a moment as I studied her sleeping face, _"It's… so peaceful."_

Smiling a bit, I hoped that I Miss Jay wouldn't make any more disturbances and continue sleeping peacefully as she seemed to be doing now. I was about to stand up and hopefully find some peaceful sleep of my own when…

I found I couldn't move away.

...

Somehow, without me even knowing it, the young psychic had managed to latch onto one of my arms and didn't seem to have any intention of letting go.

My green eyes narrowed slightly as an unfamiliar feeling of warmth seeped into my body upon making such physical contact with the girl.

Again, I sighed softly, _"This is going to be a long night."_

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**Alrighty then, mission accomplished! *grins* Soooo... what did ya'all think? Haha, and just a little hint, Kurama will NOT be sleeping with Jay. He'll get his arm back... somehow. *sweat-drops* All the same, PLEEEAAASE review! I have been SO inspired as of late thanks to you guys/girls awesome reviews! So, keep up the good work and you'll keep getting more chappies! :D Also, please follow and favorite this story too. See everybody in the next chapter!**

**Rock Out!  
Kira**


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